FanPost

The Malcolm Butler Bandwagon

Getting a vet corner in free agency is a virtual guarantee for us at this point, and every free agent corner with a bank account is likely aware of that. I think by now, this entire community has run through the FA list so much that we likely have most of those player's height, weight, speed, age, and house address damn near memorized, but as of late, I find myself trending hard towards Butler. I was curious as to what the rest of the community thought.

So, I previously thought the Raiders would cut Sean Smith and we could swoop him up. Then I thought Vontae Davis when I heard he had recovered from surgery. Then Amerson after the Raiders cut him, and then I realized that I am greedy and want everyone. Because we likely won't go after everyone, I tried to really think of who may be ideal for our team, and I'm stuck on Butler. Here's why;

First off, the notoriety is there. Butler would be a big narrative shift in the right direction because after his super bowl heroics, he became a household name for most football fans. Having notoriety can be a mixed bag, but it really couldn't hurt having a big name in our secondary to pair with Witherspoon.

Secondly, like Jimmy G, he also got a master course learning from some of the best in the business in NE. Belichick is a genius, Patricia has also been called that by those in the biz, and let's not forget working and playing with the likes of Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Devin McCourty, and Patrick Chung. All those guys likely imparted big things, and it showed up in his growth towards being a stud player.

Going back to Jimmy G, there's a familiarity between them potentially, and I'm sure a good word from Jimmy would go a long way from anyone who knows him. Not to mention that Butler is definitely out of NE this offseason after being benched in the SB, so that's a huge plus because typically, the high end FA get re-signed to their old team. Unfortunately, we still don't really know why that was the case, so maybe Shanny's relationship with Belichick could be a plus in gathering some info on that front.

I don't really know Butler's financial value or what kind of deal will likely await him, but on the field, he's a stud. I'm not going to quote PFF because I'm getting tired of that being the end all be all of a player's worth, but from what I know of how NE used him is that he's more often than not playing on an island. During their previous SB run, Logan Ryan was typically charged with containing the opposing team's number 1 with safety help, while Butler took on the team's number 2 receiver with next to no help or a safety cushion. I haven't followed the Patriots that much this year, but I assume it was similar except with Stephon Gilmore taking Logan Ryan's responsibilities.

Based on that general skillset, have him keep doing that in our scheme while Witherspoon marks the opposing team's 1, with the FS peeking on that man makes sense to me. Witherspoon has the measurables to match most receivers in football already, especially when offered help so I think that could be fruitful towards finding a functioning corner duo.

To get more insight on what kind of player Butler is, here's a link containing Emmanuel Sander's view on him. It's pretty telling.

https://www.patspulpit.com/2017/12/21/16795388/denver-broncos-receiver-emmanuel-sanders-new-england-patriots-malcolm-butler-toughest-cornerbacks

Last thing I'll say is that Butler is likely not a true #1 shutdown corner (or at least wasn't even close this past season). Those kinds of players rarely, if ever, make it to free agency. He would be an excellent #2 corner for us though, and as long we can upgrade from Johnson in a big way, I think we've done enough for the starting corners to really make this defense more potent.

So if we did target Butler, what would a deal for him look like? Prove it deal, or would he merit a big deal with major guarantees? Also, after the Foster fiasco, are we moving away from guys with question marks like being benched in the SB for a non-injury related confusing reason? Anyone else on this bandwagon?

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.